Dinwiddie signed a three-year, $34-million contract extension last December that takes effect this season. The third year includes a player option for $12.3 million. Dinwiddie will reportedly start his own company and turn the contract into a security in the form of a cryptoasset digital token - essentially selling shares in it to raise money.

Dinwiddie would receive a lump sum payment upfront. The bond, or token, would then pay investors principal back with interest.

It's the first time an NBA player has ventured into this type of contract instrument that leverages future earnings as an investment. In 2013, then-Houston Texans running back Arian Foster attempted to list himself and his contract as a stock through a company called Fantex. The plan never reached the initial public offering (IPO) stage and Foster was out of the NFL four years later.

Dinwiddie, 26, averaged a career-high 16.8 points last season. He attended a program at Harvard Business School last summer alongside new Nets teammate Kyrie Irving.